Turkey, tortilla espanola and Mongolian vodka...

Noor, me and Preeti enjoying plate no. 2

...also known as Ex-Pat Thanksgiving 2010 @ Preeti's!

We are gathered at Preeti's for an informal "Thanksgiving-ish" party in honor of the famous turkey day. In attendance are about 15 or so people -- a mix of American, French, British, Chinese-Canadian, Korean and various other ex-pats, hailing from her office, my office, friends of friends, brothers of friends, teammates from the roommates' football club and lord knows where else. The room is a pleasant buzz of accents and foreign languages.

Preeti has prepared some classics -- turkey, baked mac and cheese, and, of course, Pillsbury biscuits. Everyone also has brought a dish: mashed potatoes, stuffing, tortilla espanol, salads, breads and cheeses, cheesecake ... a veritable spread.

Louis and Andrew (Hong Kong/Canadian) on plate no. 1

And of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a fully stocked bar. "Happy Thanksgiving!" the Americans say. "Salute!" cheer the Spanish. "Gan bei!" -- "bottoms up" in Chinese, courtesy of my colleagues. Our ex-pat band is very merry.

The Americans and sole Canadian swap stories about Thanksgiving traditions -- I talk about my family's stuffing and wine-induced Scattergories, Noor discusses her family's aversion to turkey and proclivity for hummus and kibe nyee  -- and the others chime in with other family traditions. Everyone is looking forward to Christmas season, as companies essentially shut down for a week, many of us will return to our homelands and families.



Noor (Palestinian-American)

and Juan (Spanish)



Olivier (French, duh) amused by
American antics and food. Also evil purveyor of Mongolian vodka.

Louis and I have brought with us three guests: Matt, a friend from US who happened to be in Singapore for work; Victor, a brother of a friend from US; and Andrew, a Hong Kong born/Canadian raised work friend of mine. Everyone has at least two helpings of food and buckets of wine. Someone breaks out Mongolian vodka that smells worse than rubbing alcohol, so we politely decline. Matt has an early flight and it's Louis' last full night, so our group departs around 12/1 a.m. or so.





While not a replacement for family Thanksgiving, it was a very enjoyable evening and one I look forward to next year! Brava, Preeti, for being a fabulous hostess!

Mel (British) and Lionel (French) enjoying first
American Thanksgiving